“She bargains for chocolate, Dash. What did she promise in return?” He watched her lips press together as though she were trying to control her own grin. “Don’t believe that child. She really doesn’t know the secret to the universe, or ancient druid curses. She just thinks she does.”
Hell, she hadn’t offered those to him, he thought with a spurt of amusement. But then again, he knew the little girl was after a hell of a lot more than chocolate. The little conniver was after a bit of matchmaking. He shook his head as Elizabeth rose to her feet, her eyes narrowing on him.
“Well?” she asked him curiously. “What was it?”
He shrugged. “Can’t tell. Chocolate secrets are sacred, you know.”
She snorted at that. Thankfully, Cassie chose that moment to come bounding out of the bathroom. Elizabeth turned quickly to take care of washing and drying her hands, then a quick pat to thick childish curls and getting her into her coat. The whole time, Cassie talked.
“Are we really going to a ranch, Dash?” She stared up at him in amazement. “I’ve never been to a ranch before.”
“Definitely a ranch, Cassie.” He opened the door.
Two feet of snow greeted him and more was still falling.
“Come on, chatter box.” He swung her up in his arms and began pushing through the snow to the Hummer, making certain to clear a path for Elizabeth as she moved behind him.
“I’m hungry, Dash,” she informed him as he strapped her into the back seat, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Can we get something to eat? I want some pizza.”
He glanced back at Elizabeth, catching the surprise in her expression.
“Let’s get rolling first, squirt,” he chuckled. “Then we’ll see what your momma thinks is best.”
He closed Cassie’s door, then opened the front passenger door, gripping Elizabeth’s waist and lifting her into the high seat. He realized he had left her to make her own way into the vehicle the night before. She tensed in his arms, but allowed him to help her in, casting him a surprised glance as he pulled her seat belt forward.
“I remember my manners sometimes.” He cleared his throat as she snapped the strap in place. He made a mental note to remember them more often, though they were self-taught. He might have to polish them a bit. Maybe Mike would have some ideas. Hell, he was married now, he should know. The outside lights cast a dim, ethereal glow around her. Her dark hair glistened; her blue eyes appeared darker, more mysterious. Her lips shone with the delicate coating of moisture from the nervous tongue she stroked over them.
She drew in a deep hard breath, lifting her br**sts against her shirt. He remembered the bra. Lacy, flimsy. It was a tempting piece of confection that drove him crazy when he thought about it. He cleared his throat. “Pizza?” he asked her softly. He was starved, but not for food. She swallowed tightly. “That’s fine.”
They both jumped at Cassie’s squeal of pleasure from the back seat. Dash nodded abruptly before he closed Elizabeth’s door and strode quickly to the driver’s side. The pizza would be easy enough. Loosening up Elizabeth might be a bit harder.
Chapter Seven
“This guy is a friend of yours?”
Elizabeth was nervous about their arrival at the Toler ranch. She had gone from having no one to help her, having no options, to having Dash take over and find options she could have never found for herself. For two years she had depended on no one but herself. She had kept her and Cassie alive, often only by the skin of her teeth, but they were still alive. She had made her own decisions. Had protected Cassie alone and accepted the responsibility that each move, each decision, was the best she could make at the time.
Now Dash was making the decisions and he was doing it without informing her of the consequences, should any of them fail. She felt like she was in the dark, foundering for solid footing amid a situation she was unfamiliar with. She didn’t know Mike Toler. Didn’t know his family, his strengths or his weaknesses and she didn’t feel safe.
She watched Dash now, noticing his relaxed posture, his air of confidence and control. How she longed to feel so in control of any situation. The lights from the dash reflected off his hard face, the dull gleam of the night vision windshield giving him an almost other worldly appearance. The unfamiliar lights cast his expression in stark relief and made his eyes almost glow as he glanced over at her.
“He’s a fellow soldier,” he said simply as he shrugged those broad shoulders. Hard, muscular shoulders. She had gripped the smooth, tight flesh earlier that morning, allowed her nails to clench on the supple skin as he ate from her mouth. Her fingertips tingled at the memory. Her mouth watered with sudden hunger to know his taste again.
“A fellow soldier doesn’t tell me much, Dash.” She pulled her mind back from the erotic possibilities that shimmered within her mind. She couldn’t let herself lose focus. Cassie’s life was too important. “Even friends aren’t always dependable.”
“Likely why I haven’t made any.” He didn’t appear regretful or bitter. It was a statement, nothing more.
“We fought in Afghanistan together. In conditions like we knew, you learn the mettle of the men you fight with. Mike wouldn’t betray a kid. He put his life on the line too many times to save one. And he wouldn’t betray me. He owes his life to me.”
It was information. Nothing more. There was little emotion in his voice other than respect. Elizabeth thought of the people she had believed were her friends once. People she cared had for, had believed cared for her. She had loved them. Openly. Never questioning their honesty or their commitment to her. She had learned quickly that the least controversy had even those friends she had grown up with pulling back.
Yet, here was Dash, going to a man he had fought with, confident of that man’s loyalty, his honor. It made little sense to her.
“How can you be sure?” It was her greatest fear. A betrayal that would cost her the life of her child.
“You’re trusting this man with Cassie’s life.”
“I’d trust him with my own.” He flashed her a dark look. “You don’t fight with a man for a year in hell and not know what he’s made of, Elizabeth. Mike’s a good man. He won’t let us down.”